Thread by @DefiyantlyFree

🧵🧵Yes Alien Enemies Act of 1798 is Constitutional and No it is not an abuse of power.

1. It’s been around for 226 years and the courts have not touched it.

The Left loves to scream “unconstitutional!” like it’s a magic wand, but the Alien Enemies Act has stood unchallenged since 1798. Why? Because it’s ironclad.

The Supreme Court has never struck it down—not during the War of 1812, not in World War I, not even when FDR used it in World War II to detain and deport thousands.

In Ludecke v. Watkins (1948), the Court upheld its use, ruling that the President’s power under the Act is a political decision, not a judicial one.

Translation: the Constitution gives Congress and the Executive the reins here, and the judiciary’s got no business meddling. If it was unconstitutional, two centuries of legal minds would’ve torched it by now. They haven’t.

2. It’s Not About Citizens—It’s About Foreign Nationals, Who Don’t Get Full Constitutional Rights

The Left’s favorite trick is pretending the Act stomps on “due process” or “equal protection.” Wrong. It applies only to non-citizen aliens from hostile nations—people who don’t get the full Bill of Rights buffet.

The Supreme Court’s been crystal clear: foreign nationals on U.S. soil, especially in wartime or during a threat, don’t have the same protections as citizens.

Look at Harisiades v. Shaughnessy (1952)—aliens can be deported with minimal process if national security’s at stake. The Act doesn’t touch Americans; it targets enemy agents. Conflating the two is either deliberate bad faith or constitutional illiteracy.

3. Congress Has Plenary Power Over Immigration and War—It’s in the Constitution

Article I, Section 8 hands Congress the keys to declare war, regulate foreign affairs, and control who enters or stays in the country.

The Alien Enemies Act is a textbook flex of that power—passed by the same generation that wrote the Constitution, no less. The Left might cry “executive overreach,” but the Act requires Congressional authorization (via war declaration) or a clear foreign threat—checks and balances baked in.

Pair that with Article II’s Commander-in-Chief clause, and the President’s got every right to execute it. This isn’t a “power grab”; it’s the system working as designed.

4. Due Process Doesn’t Mean Coddling Enemy Combatants

The Left loves wailing about “no hearings, no trials!” under the Act. Here’s the reality: due process isn’t a one-size-fits-all hug fest. For foreign nationals tied to enemy powers, it’s a privilege, not a right—and in wartime or invasion scenarios, it’s a luxury we can’t afford.

The Supreme Court said as much in Ex parte Quirin (1942): enemy operatives don’t get a jury trial when they’re caught sabotaging us.

The Act’s summary detention and deportation powers aren’t “unconstitutional”; they’re wartime necessity, upheld repeatedly. Fentanyl-pushing cartel members or terrorists don’t deserve a courtroom soapbox—they deserve a one-way ticket out.

5. Historical Use Proves It Works—And the Left’s Fine When It Suits Them

Madison, Wilson, FDR—all used the Act to protect the nation, and it delivered. During WWII, over 31,000 enemy aliens were detained or deported under it—German, Italian, Japanese—and the Left wasn’t clutching pearls then. Funny how they only call it “unconstitutional” when it’s aimed at their pet causes, like open borders. If it was a relic of “xenophobia,” why’d progressive icon FDR lean on it so hard?

The truth: they don’t care about the Constitution—they care about losing their narrative. History says it’s legal and effective; their hypocrisy says the rest.

6. The ‘Invasion’ Clause Isn’t Just for Muskets—It Fits Today’s Threats

The Left smirks that “invasion” means Redcoats storming beaches, not cartels or illegals. Tell that to the Founders, who wrote the Act to counter any foreign threat—military or not. Article IV, Section 4 promises protection against invasion, and the Act’s text covers “predatory incursions” too. Today, 11 million illegals, cartel violence, and 100,000+ fentanyl deaths a year scream “invasion” louder than cannon fire.

Courts have ruled this a political call—see Knauff v. Shaughnessy (1950)—not a constitutional quibble. If Trump says it’s an invasion, the Act says he can act. The Left’s word games don’t change facts.

7. The Fifth Amendment Doesn’t Guarantee Foreigners a Free Pass

The Left’s last gasp is usually “Fifth Amendment violations!” Nope. The Fifth’s due process clause applies fully to citizens; for aliens, it’s narrower—especially in national security cases. Zadvydas v. Davis (2001) affirmed the government’s near-unlimited power to detain and remove non-citizens when they’re a threat.

The Alien Enemies Act isn’t some rogue outlier—it’s part of a legal tradition that says America’s safety trumps an enemy alien’s feelings. The Left’s cherry-picking doesn’t rewrite the law.